Vlocity, a cloud customer service provider, has announced that Sky Italia, an Italian pay TV provider, has chosen the company to modernize its customer service infrastructure with the Vlocity Communications platform.

Everyone likes to think of themselves as 'connected' these days, but what does it mean if you drive a 'connected car'? If you don't know you'd better learn, because they're coming sooner rather than later.

The continuing trend in IT is to simplify the way users interact with hardware and software. While computing devices are being designed to be more efficient with better user interfaces, open source applications are being developed to be device agnostic's so they can be used by anyone without compatibility issues.

It is no secret that contact centers are now intensely interested in Big Data and sophisticated analytics to improve operational efficiency, effectiveness and the customer experience. Let's face it, knowing who is saying what, when, where, why and with what result is extremely valuable. In fact, it is this need to know that has driven large volume contact centers to increasingly look to sophisticated speech analytics to give them the business intelligence they desire not just about customer interaction on the inbound side of things but also the outbound.

With all of the functionality modern smartphones supply in comparison to its predecessor - the feature phone - it can be easy to overlook the absence of a tool to record incoming and outgoing calls. Although it may seem like a basic feature to include, the murky legality of call recording has led OEMs to hide easy access to it in order to discourage its use and avoid potential problems with the government. According to U.S. law, at least one party in a call must be aware of the fact that it is being recorded, and in some states all parties must be adequately informed.

In today's global, mobile landscape business processes have become extensive and complex, reaching all kinds of mobile systems, data, content sources and devices. Businesses in this environment demand a coordinated way to connect all of these varied components and extend them to new places. As a result, what were once isolated business processes are now being united into workflow, a new category that is shaping the way businesses get everyday work done.

Earlier this week, GSMA - basically, anyone who is anyone in the mobile operator's universe - issued a happy-happy, joy-joy report proclaiming that the Internet of Things (IoT) is transforming family life. Things such as smart meters and security systems are supposed to save money and increase peace of mind according to The Impact of the Internet of Things: The Connect Home report issued by GSMA.

If a tree falls in the woods and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound? What about if a customer texts a company at a number that's not text enabled? The answer to the first question remains a matter of debate. The result in both cases, however, is essentially the same: It ends up on the floor.

Social media ecosystems are based on that same idea. All social media companies want you to spend as much time as possible in their ecosystem. That's why they give you so many apps, games, quizzes, and access to news. They let you shape your Internet environment the way you want it.

Instead, the manager stayed with the company policy, and the mother took to social media to air her grievances. After the story went viral and a large number of customers and disabled rights groups declared a boycott on the story, the retailer had to go into damage mode.

Congratulations! Your business is off and running. Unfortunately, now matter how smoothly things are currently going, you can't do everything yourself. When you reach this point, it's time to assemble your dream team if you want your business to experience continued growth and success.

NTT DoCoMo this week announced it has tapped Ericsson to provide it with the Cloud Execution Environment and Cloud Manager for its network functions virtualization efforts. The service provider is also working with Fujitsu and NEC on commercial deployment of NFV.

The part of Cobham that was formerly Aeroflex is at Mobile World Congress this week demonstrating its 4G LTE-A test solution, network functions virtualization validation, and new algorithms for a 5G air interface.

OPNFV, an industry group that came together to create and build on an open source reference platform for network functions virtualization, got a new recruit in the form of Qosmos-a deep packet inspection solutions provider.

Server virtualization is a darling of IT administrators for a number of reasons: it delivers more efficiency and cost control than adding physical servers to accommodate the data explosion. It offers savings due to server consolidation, at the same time giving enterprises valued flexibility and scalability, and promises to make the transformation to cloud architectures, whether private or hybrid, faster and simpler.

TMC and Crossfire Media announced today, M2M Evolution Conference & Expo, will expand in Las Vegas to an even bigger and more inclusive event, the IoT Evolution Conference & Expo. The event, which will be held at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas Nevada on August 17-20, is accepting speaking proposals through March 6, 2015.

Digital service providers (DSPs) are standing at something of a crossroads. There has never been so much interest in digital services from a variety of different users; everyone from console gamers to the mobile workforce and beyond has at least some interest in goods and services that never had a physical form. But providing these things to users comes with some issues as well, and that's where CSG International's new release, the CSG Ascendon, looks to step in and help with the growing interest.

Still, with NACR and AudioCodes working together, the move toward an all-IP voice network may be sooner than some might have expected. That's not bad news, of course, and either way we still will likely have plenty of exciting new developments to emerge in future as these two firms work more closely together.

TMC and Crossfire Media today announced the release of the conference program for the popular DevCon5 HTML5 & Mobile App Developer Conference. The event will take place July 21-22, 2015 in New York City at New York University's Kimmel Center. DevCon5 will focus on using HTML5 and other development tools to create mobile apps that provide a superior user experience while appealing to large numbers of those users.

Unified communications (UC) and cloud giant Mitel and Frontier Communications have worked hard on forging and strengthening their partnership over the years. Now Frontier, which specializes in providing cloud communications services as well as contact center and hospitality solutions, has become Mitel's top revenue-generating partner.

By adding the new virtual network services to Oracle SDN there is no longer a need for purpose-built network appliances, nor the added cost that goes with it. What they lack is the needed scalability and flexibility that is now a requirement in today's data centers. The new services will give customers the ability to deploy security, load balancing and routing on-demand in a single virtual instance. They will also have the ability to configure and manage them in a single pane using Oracle Fabric Manager.

We talk a lot about the technology nuts and bolts that make telework and remote work possible. Being able to work outside a regular office environment, basically anywhere and at any time, is ubiquitous now and that is largely thanks to conference call services and technology. If you have a phone and even the most standard phone service, you can connect with coworkers and work remotely.

Qualcomm is already a key player in connected car programs at over a dozen leading global automakers. Snapdragon Automotive Solutions have been incorporating cutting-edge mobile technologies into the next generation of in-car experiences. One such solution is the automotive-grade Qualcomm Snapdragon 602A processor, designed to help bring 3D graphics and multimedia features to connected infotainment.

Swedish furniture titan IKEA is known for its whimsical store layout. Its labyrinth of fully decorated and sleekly furnished display rooms are effective at representing items for everyday use, allowing customers to mix, match and imagine. With its announcement of plans to incorporate Qi technology into its furniture, IKEA will add a touch of tech-sorcery to its whimsy. Everything from night stands to desks, to desk lamps will have surfaces that can wirelessly charge your mobile devices.

In the hustle and bustle of your day-to-day tasks, do you ever take a step back and evaluate whether your company's content is hitting the mark? As marketers, it's easier to take the safe route and ramble on about your company's services and accolades than to take the time to create impactful content that aligns with your buyers' needs. It's why so many B2B marketers fall into the habit of writing content that reads like a sales pitch.

Right now, you're stuck between a rock and a hard place with your content creation. You spend a great deal of time crafting what you think are valuable articles, yet they can't seem to gain any traction over social channels. As a result, your content consistently takes a back seat to articles with titles like What Your Cat Can Teach You About Business.

Can partnerships improve the customer service experience? There's long been a saying in business - the only ships guaranteed to sink are partnerships. This generally applies to environments where two people try to marry their passions into a business with a single goal. The partnership is doomed from the start when those involved aren't able to stay true to their own passion for the sake of the partnership.

Reports continue to surface on the customer experience across a myriad of industries. Companies continue to search for the right formula to ensure they can meet customer expectations as well as budget requirements, yet many continue to fall short. A recent post in Insurance Business Online takes an interesting approach to the conundrum - blaming a particular generation.

We live in an age of mass customization. We've seen the trend for decades but its accelerating as customers can design their own clothes, perfume and more. Tattoos and body jewelry are yet other ways consumers choose to customize themselves. This thought came to mind in one of my recent briefings.

TCS had a wealth of interesting news at MWC this week - probably the most interesting was their VirtuMedix solution which is a HIPAA compliant virtual telemedicine solution allowing doctors and patients to securely communicate in order to minimize the need for in-person visits.

The Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise Small Cell device will be deployed for the first time in Canada to provide Telus, a telecommunications company in the country, enhanced high-speed mobile connectivity and capacity inside buildings.

That type of security approach is essential in today's business world, where BYOD is quickly becoming the norm and a host of geographically disparate users and devices need to be secured. While this may be a benefit in terms of productivity and operational cost savings, it also opens businesses up to a higher risk of security breaches. In 2014, for example, there was a 49 percent increase in data breaches and an alarming 78 percent increase in the number of data records stolen or lost when compared to 2013.

The small business is the lifeblood of the American economy. While we all tend to look to the Googles and the Apples of the world as driving opportunities, the reality is that innovation, job creation and expansion have always been driven by the small business. For those at the helm of these operations, sustainability is dependent upon the satisfaction of the client base.

If you are a multi-location enterprise of any size, one of the more vexing challenges over the years has been how to keep your branches, literally and figuratively like the old 1960s saying, tuned-in and turned on. There now in fact are three Ss that should be addendums to that phrase- secure, synchronized/controllable and survivable.

While unified communications (UC) systems are catching on with many businesses out there, such tools are far from universal as yet. That means new opportunities for companies who haven't previously gotten involved, and as such, potential hurdles for those newcomers, particularly in regards to compliance with certain laws and regulations. In a bid to help out with such new efforts, ISI Telemanagement Solutions, Inc., has released a new solution guide that should help the newcomers to the field make better sense of what's expected in getting into UC efforts.

To be competitive today, companies need to invest in solutions that allow them to make use of data to drive outcomes. For the call center environment, every interaction with a customer is an opportunity to capture information and turn it into business intelligence. The way the customer answers the phone, the channels they prefer to use, their response to a certain part of the script - all of these things matter in the overarching focus of customer interactions. If you're not capturing this information, you're not securing your competitive advantage.

It used to be that just about everyone outsourced their needs to an offsite center or company, and let them handle it all. But with new security concerns popping up daily, costs that seem to rise just as frequently, and a serious lack of control over what is a critical part of your business, it makes sense to re-visit this scenario and re-think your position.

While it's easy to post a sign in the call center that says that the customer is always right, it's important to remember that your customer support team is made up of human beings, not signs. Human agents get frustrated and have bad days, and customers - and ultimately the bottom line - pay the price. Any contact center that doesn't teach its agents some serious coping strategies for bad days and difficult customers is doing the organization a disservice.

Telecom operators around the world are upgrading their networks in order to cope with the increasing bandwidth demand consumers are putting on the current infrastructure. Without these upgrades, they will not be able to manage the new generation of smartphones, tablets and other devices that will be accessing networks for cloud computing, streaming services, remote working and more.

Recently, a friend referred the Net Neutrality order as the Netflix Easy Pass. The FCC's statement's that it intends to monitor interconnections is aimed at solving the consumer complaints about the experience of network delay when reaching Netflix. Netflix numbers are amazing, they represent 30 percent of Internet traffic during peak hours. The unlimited access promised as part of the consumer's Internet access may have caused the FCC to consider Net Neutrality, but their order focuses on interconnection.